From the Orient

The new album from Portishead, Third is available as a stream from last.fm. This is a minor incredible thing as it won’t be released until the 28th April.

I have to admit not being much of a Portishead fan at the time, but I’m rather liking this new album so far (first listen of half an album). More interesting is that last.fm are now able to get new albums like this and have the license to stream them. Certainly better for me than having to put up with Radio 1 or local stations.

n.b. if anything thinks this is a test of the wordpress 2.5 software wouldn’t be too far from the mark

It turns out that you can get 2% added to your exam score if a pet dies.

Just be careful if your child is struggling; “Recent death of parent or close relative” gives you a whopping 5%

Some people will be South Africans tonight.

On the positive side, at least we weren’t humiliated by the Australians in the semi-final.

I heard on the radio someone say that Sheffield United would be happy to keep United to an English cricket score tonight.

Joss Whedon’s western in space, Serenity has been voted top sci-fi movie in an SFX polls, says the BBC :-

“The TV show may have been cancelled, yet the Serenity universe clearly struck a chord with fans, thanks to its likeable characters, witty dialogue and amazing special effects.”

Is it really that good? The DVD sits on the shelf at home and quietly whispers at me “watch me, watch me” every day. So far I have resisted. Ok, I haven’t had time. The Star Wars box sets get watched quite often by myself and my son. Serenity is better that the latter 3 Star Wars films, but the originals have turned into timeless classics that will not be beaten.

The excellent new episode of Doctor Who has inspired me to start up regular Who episode postings here (like I used to). Expect some more “what my son thought of Doctor Who this week” to appear.

There is a debate about whether “The Armstrong’s”:http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbctwo/programmes/?id=armstrongs is real or not. Real or otherwise (my view is real, but is very well edited) it makes for a great Wednesday night of TV, along with the excellent “Amsprentice”:http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbctwo/programmes/?id=apprentice

Now, I’ve found TheArmstrongs.tv blog and whether this is real or not, is another debate, but it sure is funny.

The wonders of modern technology #2342 A mobile phone video from the crowd at Leicester v Reading as they learn that results have gone their way and Reading have been promoted.

Featuring Stevie Coppell and his amazing “thrown into the crowd” coat.

Disclaimer: Steve Coppell is my childhood football hero